Vehicle-wheel.



G. B. LAMBERT. Y VEHICLE WHEEL.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 10, 1910.

Patented Jan. 17,1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Yu my WITNESSES E 1, M w rm 1 v N 11 w wb U M A f Patented Jan. 17, 1911.

G. B. LAMBERT.

VEHICLE WHEEL.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 10, 1910.

is comparatively compact in form and light S ATES TEN union.

GERARD BAMES LAMBERT OF NEW' YORK, N. ,Y.

VEHiCIrENVHEEL.

. Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed November 10, 1910. SerialNo. 591,569;

wheel of this class which hasa felly, a re-.

movable tire rim mounted upon the felly, a'keeper for holding the rim in place, and means for moving the rim'transversely of the felly at a point remote from the keeper, to cause the rim to swing on the felly as a. fulcrum, at apart thereof adjacent to the keeper so that the rim can be lifted clear of the keeper in removing the rim.

.An object of the invention is to provide a simple, strong and durable vehicle Wheel, with which pneumatic and other tires can be employed, and which is adapted for use with automobiles and other vehicles, which in weight, which differs little in appearance from vthe ordinary vehicle wheel used for like pur oses, in'which the clencher or other removab e 'tire carrying rim can be easily. and expeditiously removed, to permit the tire to be replaced when necessary, and

which requires the operation of but a single releasing device to permit the removal of the run.

A further object'of the invention is to provide a vehicle wheel having a removable tire-carrying rim, in which means are provided forreleasing the rim and for locking it securelyin above-mentione means insuring the secure seating of the rim upon the felly, and also insuring the easy removal of the rim, so that the, rim cannot become rusted or otherwise inadvertently fastened upon the fellyl The invention consists in the construction and combination of parts to be more fully described hereinafter and particularly 'set forth in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specificatio'n, in' which similar characters of ref- 'erenoe indicate corresplonding parts in all e the views, and in whic Figure 1 is a side elevation of an embodi ment of my invention; Fig. 2 1s a transverse (place, the operation of the f section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, showin.

ent positions; Fig. 3 is an enlarged, t-rans; verse, fragmentary sectionshowing the 'felly-band, and the removable tire-carry' rim, and indicating in dotted outline a d1 ferent position of the rim while the same is being removed; and Fig. '4 an enlarged transverse section of part of the folly, the felly-band'and the rim, showin the means for releasing and securing the rim.

Before proceeding to. a more detailed explanation of my invention, it should be clearly understood that while the vehiclewheel is particularly useful in connection with the ordinary pneumatic tires commonly employed,

which are secured in place by means of a Patented J an. 17, 1911. i

m dotted outline certain of the parts in di er;-

clencher rim, as shown herewith, any other tire-carrying rim, and other forms of tires which it'is necessary from time to time to replace, can also be employed. I havefound that in the present forms of vehicle Wheels having removable tire rims, the latter are secured in place by means of lugs, removable,

wedges, bolts, and. other devices, of which each Wheel includes a plurality, so that to remove a rim, in every instance, requires a number oflsimil'ar operations. Needless to say, this entails considerable time and labor. In my invention'I provide means for securely holding the rim upon the wheel or felly, and means for releasing and securing the rim, which comprises a unit, and requires but a single operation. In other words, I employ a single operating member for wedglng the rim in place, and for securing it. This operating member serves to swing the rim transversely of the wheel, employinfg'la part of the wheel or felly band as, a lcrum, at a point remote from the operating mem her. The swinging movement of the rim frees itfrom the seating wedges, and permits it to be positioned so that it can be lifted clear of the keepers.

Certain of the details of construction shown for example herewith, form no part of the invention, and can be varied in accordance with individual reference and special conditions, without eparting from the underlying spirit of the invention.

1 Referring more particularly to the drawings, I'have shown for example herewith, a vehicle wheel comprising the usual hub 10, thespokes 11, and a felly 12. Upon the felly is shrunk or otherwise secured, the fellydoand 13, which is permanently associated with the felly, and is of any referred or common form,having at oneme ge, 'a'latwhich limits its movement and necessitates that the, rim be displaced from the' wheel by moving it toward the other edge of the felly-band. Upon the latter is secured a plurality of keepers 16 fastened in place b means of rivets 17- or in any other suitahle manner, and secured directl and permanently to the felly-band. T e keepers are preferably four in number and extend along substantially one-third of the circumference of thewheel, as is .shown most clearly in Fig. 1. The keepers have the inner ends 18 tapered, and present bearin surfaces 19 at the upper faces, .upon whic thev rim 15 can seat. The outer portions 20 of the keepers extend beyond the felly-band and are outwardly disposed and curved to fit snugly against the outer part of the mm 15, to secure this'firmly in position, and to prevent its accidental displacement. The under faces of the keeper wedges are preferably cut away to receive thefelly-band.

I employ a plurality of seating wedges 21, permanently secured to the mm 15 bymeans 'of rivets 22 or in any other suitable manner.

The rivets 17 and 22 are countersunk, as is clearly shown in Fig. 3. The seating wedges have the inner portions 23 tapered to form inclined faces, which engage the felly-band when the rim is being forcedinto position. Near the outer ends 24, the seating1 wedges have substantially normal faces, w ich seat against the felly-band when the rim is in position. The outer ends of the seating wedges do not extend beyond the edge of the felly-band when the rim is in position, and are formed that the rim can be swung outward at the seating wedges. These serve merely to bind or jam the rim in lace. Their functions are thus somewhat di erent from the functions of thekeepers 20 which act as stops, to prevent the lateral displace ment of the rim under normal conditions. The seating wedges also tend to stretch the rim 15 and thus cause it to seat firmly and uniformly upon all of the wedges and keepers. The seating wedges are preferably four in number, arranged inpairs s aced equidistant from, theend'keeper we ges.

I employan operating device 25 which is located between the pairs of seating wedges and is thus diametrically opposite to the series of keeper wedges. The operating device comprises. an operating member 26 which has a threaded stem 27 ocatedin a correspondingly threaded opening 28 of a' socket 29. The latter is ositioned in a transverse'bore 30 of the fell and has at the inner end a rim 31 which seats against opening there the inside ofthe felly and against the fellyband. The socket is secured in place by means of screws 32 or in any other suitable manner. The operating member 26 has at the outer end a reduced neck 33, and between the same and the threaded stem a laterally extended shoulder 34. At the end.

of the reduced neck 33 is a head 35 of angular form, which 'ermits the operatingmember to be manipu ated by means of a brace wrench or any other suitable implement. The felly band at the operating device has an inwardly disposed face plate 36 provided with an opening 37 through which the operating member extends. A wedge member 38, the body 39 of which is similar to .the seating wedges, is secured by means of counter-sunk rivets 40, or in any other suitable manner, upon the tire rim, outside of the socket 29. It has a radially disposed end 41 provided with a slotorrecess 42, which receives the neck 33 of the operating member. The head 35 of the operating member is at the outside of the end 41. The collar or shoulder 34'of the operating member is positioned betweenthe socket and the end 41. By turningthe operating member in one direction or the other, the rim 15 is swung transversely of the felly, pivoting upon. the felly-band at the part thereof which is substantially diametrically opposed,

to the operating device, as is indicated in dotted outline in Fig. 2. It will be understoodthat as the shoulder 34 and the head 35 of the operating member engage, respectively, at theopposite sides of the end 4-1, the rim will be carried with the operatingmember, as the same is screwed out of or into the socket. In this way reat force can be applied to free the rim rom the felly or to cause it to ride into osition upon the wedges and keepers, and ittle difliculty can be occasioned in removing the rim owing to the rusting. of the parts, the incrustation of mud, or other. like causes.

In removing the rim it is necessary to swin it outwardly by means of the operating evice, until the operating member is free of the socket, so that the opposite portion of the rim can be lifted clear of the keeper wedges. This permits the air inlet valve of .the tire,which is located at that portion of the wheel'provided. with the keeper wedges to be withdrawn from the for in'the .felly. To replace the rim it is merelynecessary to reverse the above-described operation."

Having thus described my invention, 1

claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. The improvement herein described, comprising a wheel, a tire rim fitting removably to the wheel and fulcruming atone point uponJthe wheel and held at. such point from lateral displacement, means'operating at a point remote to'the fulcrum and adapted to move the-rim laterally onto and off-of the wheel, and wedging devices between the wheel and rim adjacent to the operating means.

2. The combination, substantially as described, of a wheel, a removable tire rim mounted upon said wneel, a keeper secured the rim positively on and oil the wheel positioned at a part of the wheel remote from said keeper and operable to swing the said rim transversely of the wheel and upon the same as a fulcrum at a part thereof adjacent to said keeper, whereby after said rim is swung outwardly at the operating point, it can be lifted clear of the remotely disposed keeper.

- 3. In combination, a wheel,aplurality of keepers secured on the outer periphery of the wheel and spaced apart in the direction of the circumference of the wheel s removable tire rim and a plurality of seating Wedges secured on the inner periphery thereof and spaced apart circumferentially,

said keepers occupying one are of the circumference of the wheel and said seating wedges occupying a complementary arc of the circumference of the rim and means for holdin the rim on the wheel. 4. The combination of a wheel, a 'plurality of keepers on the outer periphery of the wheel and spaced apart in the direction of the circumference of the wheel and a removable tire rim, a plurality of seating Wedges on the inner periphery of the tire rim and spaced apart circumferentially with said keepers occupying one are of the circumference of the Wheel and said seating wedges occupying a complementary arc of the circumference of the rim and operating means located in the arc of the rim occu+ pied by the seating wedges and adapted to move the rim at said I point laterally with respect to the wheel.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses. 1

GERARD BAMES LAMBERT. lVitnesses:

W. S. SKINNER, BERNARD J. CULL. 

